


The Hunter and The Wolf

by TheAlmightyUltimus



Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe - Creatures & Monsters, Eventual Relationships, F/F, Hunter!Weiss, Mystery, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Useless Lesbian Weiss Schnee, Violence, mild slow burn, tagging is hard
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-16
Updated: 2020-12-20
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:28:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 18,460
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27044266
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheAlmightyUltimus/pseuds/TheAlmightyUltimus
Summary: Remnant. A world of Men and Monsters.Weiss Schnee was a Hunter, tasked with helping to keep the peace between humans and their more bestial cousins. It was hard work at time, but it was rewarding. She could help people and at the same time work towards making her name one that she could be proud of again. But fate has funny ways of messing with your plans.On what was supposed to be a routine hunt Weiss encounters a Werewolf that she just can't seem to get out of her head.A Werewolf with silver eyes.
Relationships: Blake Belladonna/Yang Xiao Long, Ruby Rose/Weiss Schnee
Comments: 20
Kudos: 164





	1. A Wolf with Silver Eyes

**Author's Note:**

> This originally was supposed to be a one-shot for the Supernatural prompt for Whiterose Weekend but then too many ideas got flowing and before ya know it you got enough to fill four or five chapters

The first time they met, Weiss was hunting her.

Weiss dashed through the forest, the crunching of snow beneath her feet the only sound echoing throughout the forest. Rather, it was the only other sound the girl was focusing on. Her primary focus laid on the gentle growling and panting coming from a ways ahead of her, and the trail of footprints she was following. 

A local village had been having their livestock killed frequently over the past week, and they believed the beast Weiss was chasing to be the cause. They would have dealt with it themselves, of course, but the manner of creature they were dealing with was well outside their area of expertise. While Weiss didn’t mean to be rude, she doubted any of the people in that quaint little place had the experience or skill to handle something like this. So they sent in a request to the Order, and here she was.

She felt a grin come to her face as she heard the growling take a sharp left, Weiss following suit. It was a testament to the training she had gone through that she was able to keep pace with it as well as she was. After all, she would have long lost the creature otherwise. But everything was going according to plan. As her quarry was nimble and quick, she sought to remove that advantage.

That is why she had funneled the beast towards a clearing that sat against a cave, which she had already confirmed had no exit. Once she had it cornered like that then it would even the playing field. Soon enough, she heard the crunching of snow ahead of her stop, a whine filled the air. It would appear that it’s entered the trap. Weiss slowed to a jog as she neared the clearing, hand moving to rest on the handle of one of the two blades hanging at her waist. While she had yet to be winded, even after a run like that, she would need to conserve her energy for the fight ahead.

As she entered the clearing she drew her topmost blade, the movement prompting her mark to turn its attention to the woman. It fully turned around, dropping to all fours and baring its fangs, snarling at Weiss. She didn’t even flinch. She had dealt with far worse than a simple werewolf. In fact, she used the opportunity to study the creature. Knowledge was power after all, and Weiss was fervent believer in that saying.

The beast's fur was a matte black, spotted white here and there with snow that had fallen onto it from the trees it had been running beneath. Even on all fours it was tall, and Weiss was fairly certain that if it stood up straight it would be a good head or two taller than the white haired girl. Its claws and fangs looked sharp, ready to tear into whatever got in the beast’s way. 

The thing that stuck out to her the most though were the werewolf’s eyes. They were a liquid silver, and even as it glared at her she couldn’t help but be momentarily entranced by them. They were bright, in stark contrast to the rest of her body, but she thought she noticed something else in them. An emotion that Weiss was intimately familiar with from her earliest days as a Hunter. Was that…

Weiss raised her blade, the silver gleaming in the moonlight. “You have been accused by the people of the village of killing and eating their livestock. Is that true?”

The wolf just growled more, its eyes starting to scan the surrounding treeline. No doubt looking for an opening to escape. A sensible plan.

Weiss narrowed her eyes. Was it? Or maybe… “They want me to kill you, though I’m sure you could sense that already.”

She thought she could make out a slight nod of the head, and noticed that it’s gaze was now concentrated solely on Weiss. It must have realized who she was by now. After all, even those who were completely out of the loop would recognize the garb and blade of an Order Hunter. No one, least of all a Demi-Human, would in their right mind ignore a Hunter. 

Weiss took a second, contemplating before continuing. “However, I am to believe that you are wrongly accused.”

She could see that surprise blossom across the werewolves face, replacing it’s earlier glare. At least, what it had wanted to look like a glare. But Weiss had always made it a point to not miss any details In her work, so she had quickly picked up the look of fear in the wolf's eyes. Not that she had been staring at them in the first place. 

“I’ve faced down your kind before. Not to be rude, but you don’t have the eyes of a killer.”

The beast blinked. It seemed to still be trying to figure out the fact that Weiss actually believed it not to be the culprit. And it DID look slightly annoyed at Weiss’s comment, but she ignored that. She was only speaking the truth.

The hunter shook her head. “I have an idea of who did it, but I’ve no leads right now. I held off as long as I could, you see, but the villagers were getting anxious. They all but demanded I hunt you down tonight. Fear can be a very powerful enemy."

The werewolf seemed to be taking time to process this information, kneading the snow beneath it’s paws, when it froze. Instantly it was back to snarling, glaring at Weiss with little of the fear it had had moments prior. Though as Weiss took a moment to study its posture again, she noted that the glare wasn't directed at Weiss. Rather, it seemed to be directed at something behind her. 

Remaining calm and listening, Weiss hummed. “I do believe our culprit is…”

Before she finished her sentence she heard the crunching of snow and the snapping of a branch coming from behind her. With speed and grace she whirled around, drawing a silver dagger from a sheath on her arm and barely ducking underneath a swiping claw before driving the dagger into a layer of greyish, scaly skin. A growl of pain resounded throughout the clearing as Weiss drew back to her full height, turning her attention to the being who had attempted to sneak up on her.

It was about the size of a small bear, it’s body covered in greenish-grey scales. It stood bipedal, a row of sharp looking spines running down it’s back. It’s face matched it’s reptilian body, a pair of large and orb like eyes sat atop a mouth filled with razor sharp looking teeth. Its tongue was extremely long, hanging out of its mouth as it growled at Weiss. The end of the red appendage ended in a sharp point, and Weiss could make out a few smaller holes along the tip. 

The hunter clicked her tongue, leveling her blade at the monster. “When I inspected the bodies, I noted that the livestock had only been partially dismembered. The more important factor though was that the corpses were drained of their blood. I only know of one manner of creature that preys on the blood of farm animals like that. Vampires consider themselves above it, but the few that do often do it cleanly. However, you dismembered the bodies on purpose to draw attention away from yourself. Isn’t that right… Chupacabra?”

The creature seemed to snarl in annoyance, confirming Weiss’s theory. 

She turned half her gaze back to the werewolf, still maintaining vision on the monster in front of her. “It wanted to frame you to cover its own tracks. I’ll admit, I’m slightly impressed. It’s not often you see that high level of thinking out of its kind. But it underestimated me, and its going to be paying the price for that.”

The Chupacabra just growled more, stomping towards Weiss and swiping at her. To the average human, it would likely have almost been too fast to react to. But Hunters weren’t average humans. She stepped to the side, bringing her blade along to slash at its scaly hide. It let out a hiss of discomfort as it swiped again, but seemed otherwise fine. 

As Weiss ducked underneath the blow, she realized she’d need a change in strategy. Even a silver blade wasn’t strong enough to cut through its scales, so she’d have to stab instead of slice. She twirled around, ripping the dagger that was still stuck in the beast free. It let out another hiss, but it quickly changed to a roar of pain as Weiss stabbed her blade into the opening her dagger had made.

She twisted the sword, burying it deeper into the Chupacabra as spittles of black blood began emerging from the wound. It dripped down the monster's body, staining the snow beneath them black. She drew it back out, sidestepping a weak retaliatory attack from the monster. In return she swung her blade down at the beast’s leg, having noted when she ducked down earlier what appeared to be a section that wasn’t as covered as the rest. A chink in the beast's natural armor. 

It seemed that she was spot on as the blade cut along the beasts scales like a scythe though wheat, leaving a fine line of black across the green of it’s ‘skin’. The Chupacabra faltered to one knee, and that was all the opening Weiss needed. The plunged her blade into the beasts neck, the polished silver emerging clean out the other side. 

The Chupacabra gurgled, blood seeping down onto the white snow beneath its feet, shaking as it’s death rattles began running their course. Weiss withdrew her blade with one clean pull. The monster quickly fell to the ground, spasming around for a few more moments before falling still. Weiss let out a breath, drawing a cloth from one of the many pockets in her coat and using it to wipe down her blade. She gave it one last flick to remove the last remnants of blood before sheathing the blade once more. 

With that done she turned back to the other individual in the clearing. The werewolf was sitting on its rear, seeming to have been watching the whole exchange with a mixture of confusion and surprise on its face. No doubt it was still trying to wrap its head around the fact that Weiss had not only believed in it, but had also found (and killed) the true culprit.

Weiss thought for a moment before kneeling down, producing a vial from another pocket. “Seeing as how the creature responsible has been dealt with, you’re free to go. As far as I know, you’ve committed no crimes for which my attention would be necessary. Unless of course you wanted to confess something?”

The hunter chuckled softly as she carefully filled the glass vial with the Chupacabra’s still fresh blood. Strange... normally she wasn't one for jokes. She half wondered why she suddenly made one before shaking her head and returning to her task. She heard crunching as the werewolf approached her, the beast's heavy footfalls doing little to disguise her presence. She slid the vial safely into another pocket before standing back up, turning to face the Werewolf. 

She was met with those molten silver eyes again, and despite herself Weiss found herself becoming lost in them once again. Why did they have to be so damn pretty? Weiss shook her head. _‘Focus Weiss!’_

She cleared her throat. “All things considered though If I were you I’d refrain from venturing near that village for a while. While you may not have actually done anything, they’re still going to be wary of you. I think it would be beneficial for all parties if The Order didn’t have to get involved in a misunderstanding brought about by their own prejudice, don’t you agree?”

The beast seemed to think for a moment before nodding its head. Weiss couldn’t help but smile, just a tiny bit. At least she seemed to be talking to someone reasonable. Lord knows she could talk for days about how unreasonable a few other humans she knew could be.

She turned back to the Chupacabra’s corpse, letting out a sigh. Now she had to figure out how she was going to haul this thing back. While normally it would just be good enough for her to report her mark’s death, along with providing a small piece of evidence (blood, fur, perhaps a claw or fang or talon depending on the monster), given the nature of the hunt tonight it would probably be prudent to bring more evidence than just the monster’s blood.

She chewed on her lip for a moment before she decided on her course of action. Hauling the whole corpse back wasn’t feasible without some form of sled, and she hadn't thought to bring one with her as she hadn't known she'd be killing the Chupacabra tonight, but she could think of something else that would serve just as well. Stepping up to the Chupacabra’s head she drew a sword, steel this time, and knelt down. While silver was better for combating monsters, steel was better for this kind of work. Finding the hole she had made earlier she pushed her blade in. Once she felt the tip connect with the ground she started to carve away at it.

It took longer than she would have liked, but she was eventually able to sever the monster’s head from its body. Weiss grumbled as she stood, wiping the blood from her blade. “Blasted scales... “

She flinched when she heard… giggling? Weiss turned to the source to find the werewolf had yet to leave. On top of that it was… laughing? The white haired girl’s face turned a light shade of red. Had it been watching her this whole time?

She grumbled again. “You could have helped…”

The wolf’s laughter died down as it stepped forward, and Weiss had to fight down the instinct to adopt a defensive stance. If it was going to hurt her it would have done so already, given the amount of time Weiss had had her back to it. 

It instead just walked right past the Hunter. Weiss’s gaze followed the beast as it approached the treeline, the gentle cawing of crows returning to the forest. The wolf turned its head, it’s silver eyes meeting Weiss’s gaze one last time before it dashed off into the woods.

Weiss let out a breath she didn’t know she had been holding. That was certainly a tad strange. Regardless, she sheathed her blade before kneeling down and lifting the Chupacabra head. She had a decent walk ahead of her, and maybe she could actually catch a few hours sleep if she made it back before daylight broke.

With a grunt the Hunter started walking, following back the tracks she had left behind earlier. No matter how hard she tried though her mind always wandered back to something she was trying extremely hard to NOT think about. Alas, it seemed her mind wouldn’t be having any of it.

She couldn’t get those silver eyes out of her head


	2. The Girl with Silver Eyes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Weiss is forced to take a break, and in doing so meets a girl and her family

The second time they met, Weiss hadn’t even realized it.

Weiss let out a sigh as she marched down the streets of Vale. Honestly she wouldn’t even be here if Pyrrha hadn’t made an actually sound and reasonable argument that she really needed to take a break. In her admittedly tired state of mind though she hadn’t agreed until now. There was work to be done, and just because Weiss had barely slept any in the past 24 hours was no reason to stop. Unfortunately her fellow Hunter could be very persuasive when she wanted to be.

So that’s how Weiss found herself trudging along to a smith’s shop in Vale that Pyrrha had recommended. Someplace called ‘The Golden-Crimson Rose’. Weiss would be the first to admit that the name sounded rather odd, especially for a blacksmith shop, but if it came with Pyrrha’s seal of approval then she was willing to give the place a shot. Taking another glance down to the address Pyrrha had scrawled down for her she noted that she should almost be there.

She rounded a corner, as per her instructions, and immediately found the place. Rather, she would have been ashamed of herself had she missed it. While the building itself wasn’t particularly large, only a wide one story building with a chimney from which smoke was billowing out of, but it was the place’s display that really caught Weiss’s eye. Emblazoned in a shiny combination of red and gold sat the store’s name, ‘The Golden-Crimson Rose’, and next to it were depictions of a scythe and what appeared to be a pair of gauntlets. 

Weiss walked towards the building, pushing the paper in her hand into a coat pocket. Stealing a glance into the square window that sat beside the door she made out what appeared to be a set of tables and chairs. And was that… a counter? A waiting area perhaps? She was getting a more cafe vibe from the area but that couldn’t be right. She was certain this was a blacksmith’s shop. Unless, of course, Pyrrha had misled her. Weiss shook her head. No, that girl was far too kind. Plus she was a terrible liar. Realizing she wasn’t getting anywhere just standing there she opened the door and walked in.

Upon entering she realized her earlier estimation might not be that far off. While to the left was a hallway which she could tell led to the forge, if the heat coming from it was any indication, to her right was a trio of rectangular tables and a counter off to the side. Behind the counter was an assortment of machines and tools, Weiss noted a coffee machine machine at least, and off to the side of it was a display case filled with an assortment of sweets. Cookies, donuts, even a strange mixture of the two. Weiss was still trying to figure that out when something else caught her attention. Rather, someone.

Standing behind the counter was a woman who looked to be about Weiss’s age, a long mane of blond hair that seemed to flow all the way down to the small of her back. Lilac eyes gazed up from a scroll, locking with Weiss’s own. The woman set the phone down, emerging from behind the counter and walking towards the Hunter.

She nodded in greeting. “Hey. I’m assuming you came for some smithing? Though…” the girl leaned in, whispering to Weiss, “I heard the coffee they make here is pretty good too.”

Weiss gulped, nodding her head. “Y-yes, I’m here for a bit of maintenance.”

The girl grinned. “Alrighty then. Just give me a sec.”

She turned around to face the left hallway, cupping her hands around her mouth. “Hey Tai! Got a customer!”

“On my way!” A masculine voice responded after a couple seconds, leaving the two girls in a peaceful silence. Weiss let out a silent sigh. Why had she gotten so flustered? She had kept her composure in far more pressing situations than this. Talking to one pretty girl shouldn’t be anything, right? She blinked. Wait a second…

She didn’t get to finish that thought though, as soon enough a man emerged out from the hallway. He was wearing a pair of soot covered overalls behind a grey apron, jet black boots clicking against the floor as he approached the two girls. A pair of bright blue eyes and a mop of golden hair contrasted his clothing greatly, and for a moment she wondered if he did that on purpose. No, that seemed like fairly stereotypical blacksmith attire to her, so it was probably coincidental.

The man raised a hand. “Taiyang Xiao Long, pleasure to meet you. I’m the owner of this humble little place.”

Weiss shook his hand with a firm grip. “Weiss. I’ll admit, it’s certainly unique.”

Tai chuckled. “Yeah, that was my niece’s idea. Take it this is your first time here? Ah who am I kidding, course it is. Pretty sure I’d remember a Hunter like you.”

Weiss cocked her head. “You say that like you’ve dealt with us before.”

Tai nodded. “Yeah. Had a girl through here a while back who wanted a spear and shield forged. Think her name was Pyrrha?”

“Ah, so you’re the ones who forged Miló and Akoúo?”

“We were. You know Pyrrha then?”

“I do. She was actually the one who recommended this place to me.”

“Well, I certainly won’t say no to free publicity. Smaller, family owned smithies like us need it to live. Anyway, that’s enough about us. What did you need?”

Weiss nodded, gesturing to the blades at her waist. “I need these sharpened. They’ve been seeing a lot of use recently, and they’ve gotten a bit too dull for my tastes.”

Tai nodded, holding a hand out. “Can I have a look?”

Weiss unfastened her topmost blade, handing the scabbard over to the man. He took it in one hand, drawing the blade out with the other. The silver dully gleamed in the light, and Tai whistled.

“I’d say dull is right. You’d be lucky to cut through a human’s skin with this, let alone a monster’s hide. You must have been busy.”

Weiss sighed. “Busy is an understatement. Honestly we still are, but this required my attention. My steel blade could do with some sharpening too if you don’t mind.”

Tai grinned. “Hey, I’m not gonna turn down more work, especially from an Order Hunter. Yang, come help me with this. You can sharpen the steel one while I do the silver one.”

The girl, whose name seemed to be Yang, perked up. “Really?!” She blinked. “But what if I wanna do the silver one?.”

Tai chuckled. “Silver takes a bit more care and work for it to get back to top shape, and you’re still not ready for it.”

Yang sighed, but Weiss could detect the playfulness in it. “Alright, but the cafe is gonna need someone to watch it.”

“Get your sister to do it. This should only take us around an hour or so.”

Yang nodded as Weiss passed off the other sword to Tai. The man set off back towards the forge, whilst Yang walked back towards the counter. She walked behind it, opening up a door and poking her head through.

“Hey Sis! Need ya to watch the counter for a while!”

Weiss made out a muffled ‘Okay!’ before Yang let the door close, walking back towards Weiss.

The blond patted her on the shoulder as she passed by. “She should be down in a minute. Take a seat and make yourself comfortable.”

With that Weiss was left alone. She let out a soft sigh as she walked over to one of the tables. Hopefully this didn’t take too long. As she slid her coat off, draping it across the back of the chair and taking a seat, she couldn’t help but notice how calming of an atmosphere this place had. From what she could tell it was family owned, so maybe that was why?

She didn’t have much time to ponder as soon after a door was slammed open, admittedly causing Weiss to jump just a tiny bit. She breathed, turning to whoever slammed the door, ready to give them a piece of her mind-

“Welcome to the Rose Cafe! What can I get for you today?”

Standing before her was a girl who seemed younger than Weiss, despite the fact she looked like she had an inch or two better in the height department. She was wearing an apron over a red shirt and black pants, that same apron stopping Weiss from telling much more than that, and a pair of black and red boots. Keeping with the pattern she had a head of blackish hair with red highlights at the tips. But her eyes… a clear silver. 

She blinked. Had she seen them before? They looked so familiar… but her tired mind was drawing a blank.

Weiss realized she had been asked a question, blinking herself out of her own thought. “Sorry, it’s… been a long few days.”

Weiss also only just realized the girl seemed to have been a bit surprised (or perhaps taken aback was a better word) after she started talking to the Hunter, but she paid it little heed since she seemed fine now. 

The girl smiled, and Weiss was almost taken aback by it’s radiance. “You do look kinda tired. I’d recommend something with sugar then. Always gets me perked up!”

As much as Weiss wasn’t a sugar person, she couldn’t exactly argue that a bit would probably help her right now. “I’ll take a coffee then. Let’s see… how about two sugars?”

The girl raised a hand in mock salute before trudging off back behind the counter.

And once again, Weiss was left alone with her thoughts for a moment. She let out a sigh, turning her gaze out the window. It wasn’t quite noon yet, so while it was still early there was still a healthy amount of people milling around the streets. Weiss couldn’t help but smile slightly. It was this sort of thing, this peaceful place, that she was fighting so hard to protect. 

She was pulled out of her thoughts by the clinking of a glass against the table. She turned back to see the girl from earlier standing by her, having set a cup of coffee down in front of Weiss. The Hunter nodded in thanks as she gently grabbed the handle, raising it to her lips and taking a drink. She could definitely taste the sugar, but the girl had done a decent job of hiding it behind the other flavor in the drink. 

Weiss hummed as she lowered the glass. “I can see why you’d recommend this. It’s a fine cup of coffee.”

The girl grinned, taking a seat across from Weiss. “Thanks! I’m not the best yet, but I think I’m makin pretty good progress with it.”

Weiss took another drink. “That flavor… did you use beans from Vacuo?”

The girl nodded. “Yeah. Tai said he had a friend import some in a few months ago. Have you had it before?”

Weiss nodded her head, setting the cup down for a moment. “Yes, I was able to try it when a request took me to Vacuo about half a year ago.” She shuddered slightly. Having to fight a Djinn had not been fun, even by Order standards.

The girl seemed to brighten up at this. “Oh right, you’re a Hunter! That’s so cool!”

Weiss blushed a bit at the praise. “It’s nothing that glorious, really. I just do what I can.”

The girl didn’t stop. “But that’s the thing! You guys fight to help keep people safe, and help out those in need!” She let out a wistful sigh. “I wanted to be one, when I was growing up.”

Weiss cocked her head. “Really? What stopped you?”

The girl blinked, coughing into her hand. “It’s uh… it’s a bit complicated.”

Ah. Weiss understood that look. The look of having something you didn’t really want other people knowing. Still, people were entitled to their secrets so Weiss let the matter drop. 

The girl seemed to understand, and quickly continued on the conversation. “Are you preparing for a hunt now? Are you getting a new sword made? Oh! Are you gonna use a really cool custom weapon!?”

Weiss blinked, a tad surprised at the girl’s enthusiasm. “I’m working on a hunt right now, actually. My blades were getting dull, so I needed to make a trip down here to get them sharpened.”

The girl nodded. “What are you hunting? If you don’t mind my asking, anyway. It might be classified or whatever…”

Weiss thought for a moment. It’s not like this was classified, nor did this particular Hunt deal with any sensitive information. “I don’t see why not. It’s not anything you aren’t allowed to know.”

The girl squealed in happiness for a moment before quieting to allow Weiss a chance to talk. She chuckled softly at her excitement before starting. 

“A few days ago we got a call from a Lodge in a nearby mountain range. A group of kids had gone up there for some winter party or something along those lines, but it had gotten interrupted. It seems that the Lodge, unbeknownst to them, had grown to have a bit of a Wendigo infestation.”

The girl cocked her head. “Wendigos… I’ve heard of em, but I don’t know much about them.”

“I’m not surprised. They’re not a particularly common species of Beast, nor is their tale a very pleasant one. To put it simply, when someone resorts to cannibalism in an area where a Wendigo’s spirit is residing, the spirit can possess that person’s mind and body. Their body is mutated to fit the Wendigo’s ghastly image, and grow to have a craving for human flesh. The bright side is that they can’t travel far from where their spirit resides, which is why they’re so uncommon. Though if they get hungry enough they can expand their territory through sheer force of will. That’s even more uncommon. It takes a particularly powerful Wendigo to expand their Spiritual Grounds any distance where it might pose a problem. That’s about the extent of my knowledge though. If you want any more information on them you’d have to ask a Witch. They’re more knowledgeable in spiritual matters like that than me.”

Weiss failed to notice the chill that went through the other girl as she gave the explanation on the beast. The black haired girl gulped. “So you’ve been fighting them?”

Weiss let out a sigh. “Yes. Unfortunately it’s not been going as well as I’d hoped. We found a series of tunnels in the caves near the lodge, and we speculate the beasts have set up their nest in there. They don’t have the greatest vision you see, nor do they like bright lights. So we set up scouting parties to begin scouring the tunnels when we found the source of the infestation. It seems SOMEONE thought it would be a good idea to build a Sanitarium up there. What’s worse is that, from the investigating we’ve done since discovering it, it doesn’t even exist in any records. Anywhere. So someone built an illegal Sanitarium in the mountains, someone got people in there, then abandoned it when they began running out of supplies and couldn’t get any more due to the illegal nature of the place. The worst part? They left the people behind too. Poor things probably didn’t have enough food to last a week up there. And… well, you can imagine how our infestation occurred.”

The girl nodded slowly, seeming to be recovering from the initial shock of the Hunter’s explanation. “They resorted to eating each other, they became Wendigos, then used those tunnels to find their way to the lodge.”

“Correct. But now we have not only a whole mess of Wendigos to deal with, but now an illegal Sanitarium too. The monsters were bad enough, but this just adds days worth of paperwork to the equation.” Weiss let out a sigh as she took another drink from her coffee.

The girl was silent for a moment before speaking again. “You called them Beasts earlier, didn’t you? Is that some sorta special term they're called?”

Weiss paused. “What do you… ah, right, you wouldn’t be aware of the extent of the Order’s classification system.”

She cocked her head. “The Order’s what now?”

Weiss took a second to collect her thoughts, thinking of how best to explain it. “Okay, we’ll start with this. What would you call a Vampire? Or a werewolf or a Lamia or a Witch?”

The girl thought for just a moment before answering. “People? I mean, just cause they’re a bit more monstrous than regular humans doesn’t make em any less people, does it?”

Weiss nodded. “And what would you call a Chupacabra? Or a Chimera or a Manticore or a Basilisk?”

“Those are monsters.”

Weiss nodded again. “Now, what makes those two sets of creatures different from each other?”

The girl narrowed her eyes in concentration, obviously thinking hard about it. For the sake of speeding things up though, Weiss decided to answer it herself. “It’s quite simple really. Human level intelligence.”

The girl blinked. “I… guess? What’s that got to do with anything though?”

“Any race that is capable of human level intelligence, such as vampires, werewolves, lamias, witches, or dullahans, are classified as Demi-Humans. Not quite human but not quite a monster either. Races that aren't capable of it or at the very least are more beast than man, such as chupacabras, chimeras, manticores, or wendigos, are classified as Beasts. On the surface that’s all there's to it, but there is a reason for it. If Hunters are called in for an issue involving Demi-Humans, standard procedure is to see if there's a way to resolve the situation through dialogue and without any bloodshed. On the other hand if we’re called in for an issue involving Beasts, then we’re to kill them first and foremost. For example, if a Basilisk was making passage through an area dangerous then we would be called in to kill it, but if it was a werewolf we would try and see if we could talk them to a peaceful solution that benefits everybody.”

The girl nodded. “I guess that makes sense... “

Weiss sighed, taking another sip. “Still, it’s not without its problems. Some people take the Demi-Human classification a bit too seriously. They assume ‘demi’ to mean that they’re below regular humans. A large number of people simply group them all together as ‘Monsters’.”

The girl frowned. “That’s horrible! I mean, just cause a werewolf can get all fuzzy and strong and stuff doesn’t mean they’re not people!”

Weiss nodded. “I agree. Unfortunately, fear is a powerful enemy. People who give in to it are more than willing to call an innocent vampire a monster just because they’re a vampire. Still, the majority of the population, to my knowledge anyway, is respectful enough. If I recall, it was about a decade or two ago that they allowed Demi-Humans to go to the same schools as regular humans.”

The girl nodded. “Yeah, I had a lamia in my class when I was a kid.” She hesitated. “But a lot of people just called her a monster. She was one of the nicest people I knew! But she eventually had to move when the harassment got too bad.”

Weiss sighed. “Traditions are hard to break, and kids especially are impressionable. A few words from their parents and they would wholeheartedly believe an innocent girl was a monster just because of her species. Not to say they couldn’t start thinking that themselves, of course.”

The hunter finished her coffee, setting the cup down on the table. “But that’s part of the reason I became a Hunter. I want to try and help repair the gap between humans and Demi-Humans as much as I can. I know I’m only one person, but I have to believe that I can help, even just a little bit. Though perhaps that sounds a bit arrogant of me, thinking that I alone can make any real difference .”

She looked up, coming face to face with an ear to ear smile from the other girl. Weiss couldn’t help but blush. Since when was she so cute?

“Honestly I think that’s great! Sure you might not be able to make any big changes yourself, but nothing can change in the first place if someone doesn’t start trying, ya know? I’m sure people will want to help you eventually. You just need to keep at it till they do!”

Weiss couldn’t help but smile a bit. Who would have thought she’d be getting encouragement from some girl she didn’t even know. “Thank you. That means a lot.”

The girl shrugged. “I’m just saying how I feel. Sides, I should honestly be thanking you. I got to learn more about Hunters thanks to you. Oh! You’re done, right? I’ll take that for you.”

The girl stood up, taking the now empty mug of coffee back over behind the counter. Once she had deposited it in the sink she returned to the table.

“You know, it’s certainly unique. I would never have thought to have both a Blacksmith and a cafe in the same place.” Weiss remarked as she took another glance around the room.

The girl blushed, giggling. “That was my idea, actually. I figured that if people were gonna wait around for Tai to finish his job, they may as well have some food and stuff to help.”

Weiss blinked. “Oh right, I still need to pay you. How much is it?”

The hunter was already in the process of drawing her wallet out from her pocket when the girl held up a hand, a smile still on her face. “It’s my treat today.”

Weiss frowned. “Are you sure? I really don’t mind paying”

The girl shook her head. “I’m sure. It’s the least I can do after you helped me out.”

Weiss cocked her head. “Helped you out?”

The girl froze up as if she had just realized what she said. Before anything else could be said though a pair of voices could be heard approaching down the left corridor. 

“Not bad Yang. I think we’ll make a blacksmith out of you yet!”

“Please, that’s what you’ve said the last dozen times you had me help out. When are you going to let me move on to the real challenging stuff?”

“When you’re ready, and you almost are. Just need to tone down that temper of yours a bit.”

Tai and Yang emerged from the hallway, scabbards in hand as they approached the two girls. Distracted from the conversation, Weiss turned to face the two returning smiths. “Are you done?”

Tai nodded. “Yeah. I want to ask you to have a look though, see if they’re to your liking.”

Weiss nodded in agreement as the man passed along the scabbard he was holding to the Hunter. She reattached it to her waist, drawing the blade in one smooth motion. The silver shone brightly in the light, in stark contrast to it’s dull glow from before she had given it to the blond man. Turning and stepping away from the other three she gave the blade a few test swings, the sound of it cleanly slicing through the air music to the Hunter’s ears.

She nodded as she sheathed the blade, turning back to face Tai. “I’m quite pleased with it. I must say though, I’m impressed. You do your work fast.”

Tai raised an eyebrow. “It took about an hour, which is about what I expected.”

Weiss frowned. “An hour? But it’s only been…”

When she turned to look at a wall mounted clock Weiss had to do a double take. Indeed, instead of the half hour she had thought it had been it had instead been a full hour. Where had the time gone?

She turned back to Tai. “I hate to pay and run, but I should probably be getting. Sooner I get this hunt done and over with the sooner I can have a nice, long nap.”

The man chuckled. “I can understand that.” He gestured to a register at the counter. “I’ll take you over there.”

Weiss followed Tai over to the counter. Luckily the Order foresaw expenses such as this, so they always gave Hunters a certain amount of money before they departed on hunts to cover the cost of repairs and what not. Anything else would have to come out of the Hunter’s own pockets. In this case, Weiss still had enough left of the funds she was given to cover the sharpening cost. 

She frowned when she saw the price. “Isn’t this a bit… cheap?”

Tai shrugged. “It was just a sharpening job. Besides, you guys do good work. I don’t mind giving a bit of a discount.”

Weiss was about to argue when she felt a hand pat her shoulder. “I’d recommend against arguing with him. He’s as stubborn as a mule.”

Weiss turned to see Yang standing next to her, grin on her face. “Seriously, much as it pains me to admit it, I've only ever won two arguments against him, and that’s only cause I had uncle Qrow backing me up.”

Weiss chuckled, but nodded her head as she turned back to Tai. “Then I suppose I’ll graciously accept.”

The man grinned as Weiss turned over the necessary payment. “Thanks.”

Weiss shook her head. “I should be thanking you. I’ll definitely come back here in the future when my time allows me to. I’ve actually been looking for a smith who could forge me a custom piece.”

Tai nodded. “Well, our doors are always open to you. Just swing by when you’re ready and we can get started.”

Weiss smiled, taking the steel blade from Yang and fastening the scabbard below the one containing her silver blade before turning and heading towards the front door. “I’ll be seeing you later then.”

As she opened the door she heard a voice. “Wait!”

Weiss turned to see the girl from before standing a few feet away, nervously wringing her hands. The hunter cocked her head. “What is it? Did I forget something?”

The girl shook her head. “I’m gonna get better at making coffee, so… would you want to come back and try it sometime?”

Weiss blinked. She certainly hadn’t been expecting that. But she wasn’t exactly displeased by it. Weiss smiled, nodding her head. She then realized something important. 

“You know, we never did introduce ourselves.”

The two girls were silent for a minute before they both started laughing. Weiss could tell they were getting strange looks from Tai and Yang but she couldn't really bring herself to care right now. 

Once they recovered from their laughing fit Weiss held out her hand. “I’m Weiss.”

The girl smiled, shaking the white haired girl’s hand. “I’m Ruby.”

Weiss turned, looking back over her shoulder. “I’ll talk to you later then Ruby. I’m expecting that coffee to be better the next time I’m here.”

Ruby grinned. “Of course!”

With a chuckle Weiss finally departed from the store, making her way back the way she had come. Just as she was about to round the corner she turned her head, getting one last look at the shop just before it passed out of view. Humming a bit to herself, Weiss kept marching on. 

She was oddly excited about getting to see Ruby again. She couldn’t help but wonder why. Maybe it had to do with just how happy the girl seemed. It was almost infectious. And then there were those eyes… 

Her thoughts suddenly drifted back to the weird sense that she had seen them before. But that was impossible. She had never met Ruby before today, let alone get a chance to see her eyes. Besides, she’d certainly remember silver eyes with how uncommon they were. Maybe she was just overthinking things. She was tired, after all, so perhaps she was just remembering wrong. Deciding to shelve that line of thought, at least until the current situation was dealt with, Weiss redoubled her pace.

But even still, despite her best efforts, she couldn’t stop her thoughts from sometimes straining to a girl with black hair and silver eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Any feedback is appreciated and I hope to see you next chapter!
> 
> Took a bit longer to post this then I would have liked due to a combination of work and inspiration coming off and on, but here it is! I should have the next one done in about a week or so, again depending on work and inspiration and stuff. Oh, and I want your opinion on something:
> 
> Should I post a preview chapter in between each of the major chapters? Effectively what they'd be is just a small snippet, maybe just some dialogue, from the upcoming chapter.
> 
> And a side note: I know there should be a line underneath the o in Akoúo but it's too much of a hassle jumping through all the hoops I'd have to, so forgive me for being a bit lazy.


	3. The City at Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> On the way home from a day's work, Weiss happens across a sight she has to intervene in

The third time they met, Weiss helped her.

Many people would probably have some reservations about walking alone at night in a big city like Vale. Weiss, on the other hand, actually rather enjoyed it. There was something to be said about the quiet hustle and bustle of the city at night. 

And she was a Hunter. That fact alone often scared people off.

She couldn’t help but let out a content sigh as she made her way down the street. She had, somehow, actually managed to finish all her work at a halfway decent time tonight. So this was one of the rare occasions where she actually got to go home and get a good night’s sleep. What’s better is that she didn’t have anything pressing in the morning, so she’d even get to sleep in!

It’s not like she lived in a particularly luxurious place, mind you. Right now she was set up in a small apartment in downtown Vale, and she was quite happy with it. It may only have a handful of rooms, but it had everything she needed. A small kitchen area, a bathroom, a bedroom and a decently sized living room with a tv. That was important not because Weiss actually watched it for leisure (though she would admit there were a few shows she tried to catch when she had the time). There were many times where Hunters caught wind of an incident before it was reported to The Order because it was on the news.

All in all, the place was home. Well, it was probably the most home she had ever had.

Before that line of thought went any further Weiss was broken away from it by a faint whimpering. 

Her instincts taking over Weiss looked around, trying to locate the source of the noise. An additional whimper allowed her to narrow it down to a nearby alleyway. She hesitated for a second, trying to determine the proper course of action.

Then she heard it again, and this time the fear and pain in it were clear as day.

Weiss set off into the alleyway with a stride. What was she even hesitating for? What sort of Hunter would she be if she ignored this? Even if it was a trap, which was quite unlikely, that wasn’t enough to dissuade Weiss from sticking to her moral code.

The alleyway was an L shape, and as she approached the corner of it the whimpering became clearer. On top of that the sound of other voices and laughter became discernible.

“Hey, try doing that again! The noise it made was funny.”

Weiss heard a sound, an impact, and a sharp whimper again. She narrowed her eyes, quickening her pace. She had an idea of what was happening, and her blood was starting to boil at the mere thought of it. 

As she rounded the corner her assumptions had been correct. A group of people, a quartet of men, at least mildly drunk if the smell was any indication, were standing around a black mass of fur. One of the men laughed as he hurled a rock at the shape. It whimpered as the rock hit, and now that Weiss took a closer look she could make out noticeable blotches of red among the black fur.

The rage that had been slowly building from before now reached its peak.

Weiss marched forward, grabbing a man’s arm as he was about to throw a rock. He blinked, turning to look at the Hunter.

“Wha-“

With practiced grace she twisted the arm behind him, making him drop the rock and let out a yelp of pain. She turned around, releasing his arm only to push him away. He collapsed to the ground with a groan as Weiss turned to inspect the creature they had been attacking. 

She heard one of them yell at her. “The hell’s your problem!?”

She paid him no mind as she knelt down. “It’s okay. How much did they hurt you?”

The creature slowly unfurled from the ball it had curled into, looking up at Weiss. The Hunter blinked in surprise as she found herself staring into a pair of silver eyes.

“You’re… the one from before…”

Unfortunately, she was interrupted before she could get any information from the Werewolf. “Hey, we’re talkin to you!”

Weiss let out a sigh. “Just give me a second. I need to deal with the trash.”

The Hunter stood, twirling around to face the four men. As she suspected she still smelt the stench of alcohol, though they didn’t seem drunk enough to not be without limits. Aside from the man still cradling the arm she had twisted earlier they were standing strong, their chests puffed out. Trying to intimidate her no doubt. 

The only one who was standing normally was a man in the back who walked forward past his compatriots. He, like the others, wasn’t dressed particularly poorly or fancy. He wore simple, everyday clothes that made the lot of them out to be stereotypical civilians. 

Or maybe bullies was the better term for these loafs.

The man shook his head. “Come now Miss, we can be reasonable about this.”

Weiss couldn’t suppress a scowl. “You expect me to be reasonable when you were assaulting an innocent werewolf?”

The man gasped, though Weiss could tell it was exaggerated. “I’m hurt! We were simply minding our own business when this animal suddenly attacked us! We were simply defending ourselves against this… this rabid beast!”

Stealing a glance back to the familiar werewolf, who was still hunched over in fear, Weiss narrowed her eyes. “Yes, because it seems completely savage.”

“Ma’am, I can see from your garb that you’re a Hunter. Surely you know their kind.”

“I do. And I would appreciate it, sir, if you would keep your own personal racism from clouding your view of things. This person is more scared of you than you are of it right now.”

The man sighed, shaking his head. “You really think this is a person? To each their own I suppose. Or… perhaps you think you’re the monster’s guardian angel?”

Weiss grunted, moving to rest her hand on the hilt of her blade. “Regardless of that I suggest the lot of you cease and desist, and take your alcohol elsewhere.”

While the three other men seemed to finally realize that they might be in a bit over their heads, the one who seemed to be speaking for them didn’t look fazed in the slightest. If anything, the smirk on his face meant he was planning something. 

He clicked his tongue. “Now now, this just won’t do, will it? Instead of helping us by felling the dangerous beast that was assaulting us, the Hunter instead has instead turned her blade on us.”

Weiss narrowed her eyes. “You…”

He continued, cutting her off. “Why, I daresay that sort of thing wouldn’t exactly hold well with your superiors, would it? I imagine the media would have a field day with it too.”

Weiss grunted, but stayed her hand. As loathe as she was to admit it, the man was right. Even as a Hunter, the use of force against unarmed civilians was strictly forbidden, even against bastards like this one. At best she’d get away with a warning, some punishment as well as being demoted. At worst… she didn’t really want to think about it.

As if sensing her internal plight, the man stepped forward with a sickening grin on his face. “I’m sure I could be mistaken, and forget any sort of transgression. All you would have to do is drop to your knees, profusely apologize and then leave. Oh, and leave your swords behind too. They’ll fetch us a nice price when we sell them.”  
.  
Weiss grit her teeth. Damn it… her hands were tied. Even still, the whimpering from the werewolf behind her reminded her she couldn’t just sit down and accept this. There HAD to be an answer. But what was it…

Perhaps she should take some inspiration from an ally of hers. After all, as he always says, ‘ _we may not be able to break the rules, but we have the strength to bend them_ ’.

Her resolve firm, Weiss tightened the grip on her blade. The man barely had time to blink as she drew her sword and slashed all at once. The group fell silent as her opponents took a few seconds to realize what had happened, Weiss letting out a breath she didn’t know she had been holding. The Hunter raised her head, wanting to see the expression on the man’s face.

He was as stunned as the Hunter expected him to be. She had just performed a technique known as Iaijutsu, taught to her by a fellow Hunter hailing from the eastern regions of Mistral. While she was far from a master at it, and neither her sword or scabbard were made for utilizing the technique, against someone like this it was more than sufficient. She had left her mark exactly as she had intended: a cut on his cheek.

He hesitantly raised a hand, passing it over the cut before sputtering. “Y-you b-bitch! You scarred me!”

Weiss grunted, wiping the minuscule of the man’s blood from her blade. “You’ll be fine. You know, some say scars build character.”

His face grew red, though whether it was rage or embarrassment Weiss couldn’t quite tell. Hopefully both. “Just wait till I tell your people about this! You’re finished!”

Weiss sighed, steeling her gaze as she stared at the man, causing him to flinch. “You may try. But even if you do, they will need to hold a formal hearing, and even before that whose word do you think they’ll believe? Me, a Schnee and a Hunter who has proven her loyalty time and time again in the almost two years she’s served? Or you, some nobody who wet themselves at a slight cut?”

The man gasped, his eyes slowly drifting downwards. Indeed, the man’s pants were very obviously soiled. His face somehow grew even redder, definitely embarrassment this time, before slapping a hand over his crotch.

“I-I’ll remember this!”

With that the man turned tail and ran, the other men slowly following after him. A wise choice, given their other option. She sighed, sheathing her blade. “Now that the trash has been taken care of…”

She turned back to the werewolf, kneeling down to get a better look at the state it was in. It’s fur was matted with blood from a myriad of cuts across it’s skin, as Weiss had noted earlier, but there was also a nasty looking wound above it’s right eye. If Weiss was right it was a miracle the Werewolf was able to actually keep the thing open. 

She growled. “Damn bastards… I’m sorry I didn’t get here sooner. Can you walk?”

The wolf nodded its head, then slowly stood up. It took a step forward, and while it was a bit shaky it was still a good step. Weiss nodded. “Good. Come with me, we need to get you looked at.”

The werewolf whined a bit in response, and Weiss could swear that it was either complaining about Weiss helping it or worried about the credibility of whoever Weiss was taking it to. Or maybe both.

Weiss scoffed. “You seriously think I’m going to just leave you on your own in the state you’re in? You can trust the doctor I’m taking you too. She runs a small clinic on her own, and she’s Demi-Human friendly.”

With what Weiss interpreted as a sigh the Werewolf started walking after her, not taking long to be at her side. With a nod Weiss kept moving, the Werewolf falling into step alongside her. The pair walked in a comfortable silence, and Weiss had to respect the fact that the Demi-Human could keep pace with her even in it’s injured state. Werewolves were known to have excellent regenerative abilities though, so she surmised she shouldn’t be too surprised. They weren't able to regrow an arm or anything like that, but they could heal non-fatal and non-major injuries. At the same time though, she hadn’t noticed any of it’s wounds healing yet. Was something wrong?

It didn’t take long to get to the clinic Weiss had in mind. It seemed that Lady Luck favored them enough that their little… altercation didn’t take place but two streets away. It was a plain one story building, though Weiss knew it was only that way because the owner and doctor here didn’t like things overly fancy. All she had said she needed was ‘people to know that this is somewhere they can come to be safe’. Up a small set of stone stairs, right next to the door sat a nameplate etched with a name. “Dr. Belladonna”.

Before Weiss could say anything to her companion though the door swung open, and a rather unusual sight emerged from it. An armored figure, who was noticeably missing any sort of a head, stepped out of the clinic, their cape billowing behind them. The armor they wore seemed to be plated, colored a dark shade of blue. Underneath their left arm they carried a severed head, a skull with yellow toned flesh beginning to peel off of the bone and a wide grin revealing decaying teeth. At the base of the stairs a dark horse stood (though Weiss could have sworn it wasn’t there a minute ago) looking expectantly up at the armored figure.

Weiss couldn’t help but be surprised. She certainly hadn’t expected to see a Dullahan in the city. Contrary to popular belief not EVERY Dullahan was out to kill you, and Weiss herself had done business with a handful of them in the past. Still, because of their appearance they tended to shy away from regular contact with humans. A few bad seeds, coupled with their rather frightening and grotesque visage, had earned their race as a whole a bad name. But for one to come into the city like this, even at this time of night… whatever was wrong must have been urgent.

As the Dullahan reached the bottom of the stairs it turned, looking back up at a woman who was now leaning against the doorframe. She wore a set of plain black scrubs, a pair of cat ears sitting atop her head as a pair of amber eyes watched the Dullahan descend. The Demi looked to nod in thanks, reaching towards a pouch at it's waist.

The woman held up a hand. “The amount you paid already is more than enough. I know being in a city isn’t exactly the most comfortable thing for you, so just make sure you take the medication at the proper time each day and we’ll call it even.”

The Dullahan hesitated for a moment before shrugging its shoulders, which Weiss identified as begrudging acceptance. It turned away, mounting it’s horse as it took the reins in it’s free hand. It stiffened when it noticed Weiss, almost like it was afraid. 

The hunter shook her head. “I’ve no business with you tonight. I’ve just come to talk to Dr. Belladonna.”

It seemed to ponder her response before nodding. With one last wave to the woman in black it flicked the reins, and with a whiny the horse galloped off into the night. Weiss idly noted the singed footprints it left behind, but she dismissed that thought quickly. They’d be gone by morning.

She turned her attention to the woman, who had by now turned to face Weiss. “Oh, Weiss. Not like you to drop by unannounced. What’s-”

Weiss interrupted her, gesturing to the Werewolf to her side. “No time for pleasantries yet Blake. This one needs your help.”

When Blake’s eyes fell on the Werewolf they immediately became more alert, the cat ears on her head poking up. “Bring her in. Given her size though you’ll need to use the side entrance. She’s not going to fit through the front. I’ll get a few things together in the meantime.”

Weiss nodded in response, gently nudging the werewolf towards the nearby alleyway as Blake disappeared back into the building. The creature cocked it’s head in slight confusion as the pair entered, only to have it’s answers almost immediately. In the alleyway, on the side of the building, were a pair of larger double doors. Blake likely used it for any larger patients, like Weiss’s werewolf here.

The hunter walked forward, knocking on the door. A couple seconds afterwards she heard a click, indicating the door had been unlocked. She threw the doors open, stepping aside to let her companion in first. The werewolf stepped inside, it’s nervousness from earlier seemingly evaporated into thin air. Weiss followed in after her, shutting the doors behind her.

A meow drew her attention downward, to where a black cat was looking up at her expectantly. Weiss chuckled, kneeling down to scratch the cat behind the ear, eliciting a pleasant purr from the small animal.

“Honestly, you spoil him too much.”

Weiss rolled her eyes, standing and turning to the source of the voice. “I’m just rewarding him for a job well done.”

Blake certainly hadn’t wasted any time. Already she had a variety of medical supplies spread out on the rectangular oak wood table, the Werewolf kneeling down next to the woman to allow better access to it’s wounds. 

The corner of Blake’s mouth began to twitch into a smile. “Opening a simple lock like that isn’t exactly the hardest job in the world.”

The cat let out another mewl, and Blake sighed. “If you wanted to trade jobs I’d be more than willing. Only having to open doors all day would be lovely.”

The cat seemed to let out a small humph before sauntering away, another near identical cat who had been curled up on a chair jumping down to follow him. Turning her attention back to the doctor and werewolf pair, Weiss noticed a confused look on the creature’s face.

Before she had a chance to explain though Blake spoke again. “What happened to her?”

Weiss scowled. “Some drunks decided it would be a good idea to harass her. I gave them the chase before they could do anything more than this.”

Blake sighed as she worked on cleaning up the cut above the Demi's eye. “This has been happening more and more often lately. If I had a dollar for every case like this I’ve had to deal with I probably wouldn’t have to work for a few months.”

Weiss sighed as well, leaning against the wall. “It’s horrid that they can even get away with it.”

“I feel the same, but unfortunately prejudice runs deep. That includes local law enforcement.” She frowned, turning her full attention back to the werewolf. “Did they use silver against you?”

The werewolf nodded, letting out a pained whimper as Blake inspected a rather nasty looking cut on the wolf’s side. Weiss could feel anger building up in her again. No wonder it’s healing had seemed subdued. Whilst silver was generally effective against all Beasts and Demi-Humans, it was particularly effective against Werewolves. That was large in part due to the fact that any silver-inflicted wounds had the nasty side effect of all but negating the wolf’s regenerative abilities. 

It was widely known too, so those bastards must have used some sort of silver knife or something like that with express knowledge of what it would do. 

Blake reacted quicker than her. By the time Weiss had gotten her anger and thoughts under control the doctor was already up, searching through a nearby cabinet. Weiss had a guess as to what she was looking for, and her theory was soon proven true when she came back to the pair with a glass bottle of medium size. Inside said bottle was a clear green liquid that almost seemed to have a bit of a glow to it.

Blake held the bottle up to the werewolf’s mouth. “Here, drink this. It should help.”

The beast hesitated for only a second before opening its maw, letting Blake pour the contents in. Once the bottle was drained she set it down, and Weiss could already see it starting to take effect. The silver inflicted wound was started to slowly close up.

The werewolf looked between the bottle and Blake in surprise, cocking its head. Weiss blinked. “Ah, I forget to tell you, didn’t I?”

Blake chuckled. “Not like you to forget things Weiss.”

The Hunter huffed. “It’s been an eventful night, okay?”

Blake rolled her eyes as she turned to the wolf. “I’m a doctor, yes, but I’m also a Witch. The cats you saw earlier were my familiars, Gambol and Shroud. They can’t do everything I can, but they have enough magic to open locks.”

The werewolf nodded in understanding, though it still seemed a bit surprised. Weiss didn’t blame her (Blake had called the werewolf a she and Weiss trusted her judgement), since a doctor also being a witch wasn’t the most common of occurrences. Weiss was fairly shocked too when Blake had first told her, though the surprise had long since faded. In the time she had known Blake Weiss had determined that her being a doctor was… natural. 

Blake cocked her head. “Come to think of it I never caught your name.”

Weiss nodded. "You know, I haven't either."

The werewolf seemed to think for a moment before grabbing a nearby piece of paper. She tried to pick up a pen but it went about as well as one would think. A werewolves' paws were definitely not meant for operating precision tools like a pen

“Give me a second, I should have something laying around here somewhere…”

Blake's sentence was interrupted by a mewl, and the trio looked down to see the black cat from earlier standing at the doctor’s feet. Its mouth looked to be a wide, bulky crayon, a size or two larger than anything that a normal person would use. 

Blake smiled, kneeling down and taking the crayon from the cat. “Thanks Gambol.”

Gambol let out another mewl before it departed back to wherever it had come from. She handed the crayon to the werewolf, who accepted it with a gracious nod of the head. Staring down at the paper she seemed to contemplate for a second before starting to write. It was rough, fine motor skills didn’t seem like this one's forte, but regardless she was done after a few seconds. She set the crayon down and held up the paper for the Hunter and Doctor to see.

“Rose.” Weiss muttered to herself. It was a nice name. She thought she noticed a surprised look on Blake’s face, but with how quickly it returned to being neutral she passed it off as just her imagination. She was just glad to have a name to finally put to the face. Though she would admit, the name sounded familiar… Weiss shrugged it off. It’d come to her eventually.

Blake stepped forward, giving the werewolf another look over before crossing her arms. “I’ve patched up all the bad spots, so now all that’s really left is to wait for the silver infected wound to close up so your regeneration will kick in. That potion I gave you should run its course over the next few hours.” Blake glanced up at a clock that hung on the wall. “I recommend you stay here until it’s done. You’d be in no condition to protect yourself if you run into anyone like that again."

The werewolf let out a groan of annoyance. Clearly she seemed to think she’d be fine.

Weiss huffed. “I agree with Blake on this one Ms. Rose. I would escort you back myself, but after what happened I have something I need to take care of.”

Rose looked over to Weiss, a frown on her canine face. Weiss suppressed a chuckle. She had a feeling she knew what that look was for.

She rolled her eyes. “No, I’m not going to do anything to those guys. Trash like that isn’t worth the time it’ll take to track them down. I do, however, have a couple other things I CAN do. As a Hunter I can’t just sit back and let something like that go completely unpunished.”

Blake took the opportunity to chime in. “It’s not going to be that easy Weiss. Trust me when I say one person alone can’t change the view of thousands.”

Weiss nodded her head. “I know that. But still, this is something I have to do.”

Blake was silent for a moment before sighing. “Knowing how stubborn you are I won’t try and dissuade you anymore. Just be careful, okay? You’re too good of a person to go and make enemies of the wrong people.”

Weiss too let out a sigh. She wasn’t a fool. The Order, while an organization whose goal was peace between humans and Demi-Humans, was no different from any other large organization. For every good person, there was another who would gladly betray The Order’s values to get themselves ahead, whether that be money, manpower or simply reputation with certain groups. Some even used their positions of power to enforce their prejudice and hate on others.

Weiss knew it all too well. After all, her bastard of a Father was one of them.

That wasn’t even speaking of the corruption that ran in the higher ranks. The Orders leader in this region, Chancellor Ozpin, was a good man. Weiss knew that much from the time she had spent working under him. The previous one though… well, there’s a reason they had called him ‘ _The Dreaded_ ’.

Shaking her head to clear it of her thoughts she fixed her gaze on Blake. “I’ll be careful. I’m a Schnee, remember? The name can be good for some things, at least.”

Blake nodded, albeit reluctantly. “I trust you.”

Weiss stole a glance to the clock. “As much as I would love to stay and chat, I should be going. After I go report what happened I think I’ll actually try and get a full night’s sleep for once.”

A whine directed her attention back to Rose, who was looking at Weiss with what seemed to be a pout on her face. Weiss had to stop herself from admitting that it was rather cute.

She chuckled, patting Rose’s head. “You’ll be fine. I trust Blake with my life, so I think I can afford to leave you with her until you’re healed up. Go straight home afterwards though, got it? I won’t be around to bale you out again if you get in trouble.”

Weiss hadn’t expected the werewolf to lean into the touch, but you wouldn’t hear Weiss complaining. She turned to Blake, ignoring the whine that came from the werewolf as she took her hand away to reach for a pouch in her coat. “How much will this cost?”

Blake waved a hand. “It’s fine. Remember that favor I owe you? Consider us even.”

Weiss hesitated, but nodded. “Very well. In that case I’ll leave her in your care.”

The two women shook hands before Weiss took her leave. With one last wave to the pair the Hunter left through the front door, closing it behind her

She took in a breath of the cool night air as she exited the clinic. The night certainly hadn’t been going how she’d planned it, but she wasn’t particularly mad about it either. This was one of the reasons she decided to become a Hunter after all: to help people like that Rose girl. Killing Beasts was part of it too, protecting people, but it was times like this that really reminded Weiss just how much there was to fix in this world.

She hummed lightly as she descended the stairs and strode down the sidewalk, making her way towards Order Headquarters in Vale. Once she reported the incident to the proper channels, ones who would have the authority to actually do something about it, she was gonna go home and have a nice, long sleep. 

Despite her best efforts though a thought kept nagging at the back of her mind. A question she was sure would annoy her until she had it answered.

“Rose… where in the world have I heard that name before?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry it took so long for me to get chapter 3 out! Life got really hectic for a while and my muses weren't talking to me, but thankfully they came back the other day and let me get this finished up. Chapter 4 hopefully shouldn't take as long since I've been brainstorming how I want that to go for days now, so I hope you'll look forward to it.


	4. Reversal of Fortune

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Weiss gets into a bind, it's time for a certain silver-eyed Werewolf to be the one doing the rescuing for once

The fourth time they met, it was her turn to save Weiss.

Weiss panted, trying to keep her sword arm steady. That was admittedly a bit hard though when you’ve been fighting for hours. It had, in all likelihood, only been an hour or so but it certainly felt like longer. It was to be expected though when you were fighting Vampires, and multiple ones at that.

She sidestepped a slash from a blade, retaliating with one of her own. Her sword carved through the beast’s skin and the Vampire let out a snarl of pain. The brief respite the strike earned Weiss was short lived however, as almost immediately a second Vampire moved forward to take his comrades place and swipe at Weiss with sharp claws. Weiss dipped backwards, narrowly avoiding the attack that had been aimed at her throat.

Weiss let out a breath, taking a few more steps back to try and put some distance between her and her assailants. Unfortunately it didn’t seem like they’d be having any of that. The third of their little group growled as he lunged at her with an axe. Weiss sidestepped the attack, reaching into her coat. It was time for a tactical retreat.

As all three of the Vampires advanced on her at once, Weiss withdrew her phone from it’s holding place. Working fast she readied the camera, pointing it towards the trio. They seemed confused for a second before one of them snarled, raising an arm to strike.

Weiss was faster on the draw.

She tapped the screen, a bright flash emerging from the phone as it took a picture. The three Vampires roared in pain, their weapons falling to the ground as they clamped their hands over their eyes.

Weiss turned on her heel and ran, pocketing her phone again. Vampires had extraordinary night vision, but that very same fact made them quite sensitive to light. The flash of a camera, especially at that close of range, should buy her a few minutes at least.

As she rounded a corner she couldn’t help but scowl. She really should have gotten a map of this place. Turns out it was actually rather easy to get lost in an unfamiliar castle, especially one that hasn’t seen any use in probably hundreds of years.

She ducked into a room, quietly shutting the door behind her. She finally let out the breath she had been holding, turning back around and leaning against the door. Things weren’t going according to plan at all.

At the very least she should be close to the main door, if memory serves. If she can get out she should be home free. Though with the number of Vampires around that was going to be easier said than done, especially since the conditions favoured them. Ironically enough, now she was the prey and they were the hunters.

But they’d find she wouldn’t go down without a fight.

She turned her attention to the room as she stepped away from the door, noticing part of the wall that looked to have patched with wooden planks. Their age was abundant from the rot spread across the wood, and Weiss would be surprised if they were good for anything at this point. Whoever had tried to patch it up obviously hadn’t been here in a long time. Weiss was about to go investigate further when she froze, the hair on the back of her neck raising.

She was being watched.

Weiss spun around, but she wasn’t fast enough. Almost immediately a cold hand wrapped around her throat and began to squeeze, the Hunter wheezing as the air was knocked out of her throat.

A cackle echoed around the room. “The irony! The Hunter becoming the hunted… it’s hilarious!”

Weiss narrowed her eyes, fighting for breath as she looked over her assailant. The man wore a sleeveless white top, a tattoo barely visible on his left shoulder. The man’s hair was somewhat long, bound in a braid, and scars littered his chest. A scorpion’s tail dragged along the ground behind him.

But the scariest things about him? His eyes. They were crazed, the eyes of a madman, yet one that was still completely sane.

He cocked his head, a sadistic grin spreading across his face. “The Mistress said to kill you… but that doesn’t mean I can’t take my time with it. I want to hear how a Hunter screams!”

Weiss tried to offer up a retort, but the hand clamped around her throat stopped that from happening. She grabbed at his arm, trying to pull it off. But his vampiric strength made that pretty much impossible. Feeling the lack of oxygen starting to get to her she realized she didn’t have much time, so she did the one thing she could think of.

Using one of her free hands she reached down, gripping the handle of her silver sword. She feebly brought it out, slashing across the vampire’s chest. He let out a growl of pain, dropping Weiss in the process.

The Hunter collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath. Her respite was brief though, since it didn’t take long for the Vampire to pick her back up again.

He growled, eyes narrowing. “Think you’re so tough, huh? We’ll see… we’ll see!”

Instead of going back to choking her though, the Vampire instead slammed her against the stone wall. Weiss let out a pained gasp, her sword tumbling from her hand to the ground.

With a sadistic grin the vampire spun around, flinging Weiss against the far wall. Only instead of hitting stone, she felt herself hit wood. Must be the wooden planks she had noted earlier. Even worse? She went crashing right through the rotten wood, sailing through the air. Her journey finally ended when she impacted a wall of stone.

She bit back a cry of pain as she crumpled to the ground, screwing her eyes shut. If she screamed that would only attract the others, and her chances of survival would go from unlikely to nothing. Weiss panted, slowly opening her eyes and looking up.

It seems she was in the entryway now. It was a fairly wide open room, the main doors off to the right with another passage leading back into the castle to her left. She could make out a hole in the roof, partially filled in with more wooden planks. Like the others though they were rotten, looking like a soft breeze could cause them to break.

Weiss swore under her breath. She was so close… she just needed to stand up. She winced when she tried to stand up. Her head was pounding and there was a searing pain in her left arm.

Just peachy.

The vampire was cackling as he jumped down from the now hole in the wall, walking slowly towards Weiss. “You should scream more! It’s no fun if they don’t make any noise.”

Weiss grit her teeth as she turned her attention to the man. A mad grin was on his face as he kneeled down next to her. He raised an arm, Weiss finally noticing the blade that he was wearing on it. A quick look revealed an identical weapon on his other arm.

He extended the blade, drawing it closer towards the Hunter’s throat. Weiss narrowed her eyes, glaring daggers at the Vampire. He let out a faux sigh.

“I suppose if you’re not going to be any fun…”

The man withdrew the blade from her neck and she almost let out a breath of relief, if not for the fact he turned his attention to her right arm. With almost practised precision he traced the blade down along the arm, cutting through her coat and drawing a line down her skin.

Weiss grit her teeth. The pain was manageable, she had felt far worse, but she was concerned for another reason. She was bleeding now, she could feel it staining the inside of her coat, the liquid slowly dripping down her arm. Vampires desired blood more than anything else, so much so they could smell fresh blood from over a mile away.

The man had just alerted every other Vampire in the castle to where they were.

The man giggled, almost childlike if not for the murderous look in his eyes. “Maybe you’ll scream if I get my friends to drain some blood. Oh, some of them prefer taking it from limbs. After they’re been cut off, of course.”

Weiss did the only real thing she could think of in this situation, the only act of defiance she could feasibly do in this situation.

She spit in the man’s face.

He blinked, taking a second to process what just happened. He stepped back and let out a boisterous laugh, one tinged with amusement. He licked his lips, leaning back in.

“Amusing… but as Mistress always says… unruly whelps need to be punished.”

Weiss barely had time to react as the man swung an arm towards her face, aimed directly at her eye. She tilted her head, hoping she’d be hast enough to dodge the incoming instrument of death. But…

Weiss finally let herself scream as she felt the blade carve through flesh, a fresh stream of blood starting to travel down her face. She tilted her head forward, her eyes shut tight in pain.

A sadistic laugh echoed throughout the room. “Now THAT's what I wanted! Ahh… Hunters really do have the best screams.”

Weiss ground her teeth together as she slowly raised her head, forcing her eyes open. Well, more like eye. She could still see out of her left eye but just barely, what with the blood clouding her vision.

It was at this moment that things went from bad to worse. As if on queue a quartet of Vampires emerged from the hallway that led from further into the castle. She recognized three of them, the ones she had run from earlier, but the fourth one who was leading the pack was new.

It was a woman wearing a red dress that extended to her ankles with a slit in the side, probably for ease of movement. From what Weiss could tell though she wore heels even longer than what Weiss wore (even though it wasn’t very much). She wondered how she could even fight in those things.

A cruel smile was displayed on her face as she approached. “Didn’t I tell you not to toy with her and just do the job?”

The man huffed, waving his hand dismissively. “The Mistress just needs her dead. No reason I can’t have a bit of fun before I do it.”

The woman scoffed. “And what would you have done if another group had shown up looking for her?”

He rolled his eyes. “They wouldn’t. That was the whole point of this, wasn’t it? Kill her somewhere nobody would come to look?”

The woman clicked her tongue, approaching Weiss. The Hunter had to admit, she was kinda proud she was still fully conscious. Though she could feel that starting to change, her eyelids growing heavy. She forced herself to stay awake though. If she went under now she’d never be waking up again.

“That was the plan. However, I don’t believe anybody said you were allowed to have… ‘fun’.”

The guy growled a bit. “Please. The guy just wants her dead, doesn’t matter if I get to play with her a bit first.”

The woman narrowed her eyes, glaring at the man. “Quiet! She’s still conscious you idiot! She can still hear you.”

The man waved his hand. “Please, we both know she’s not getting out of here alive, so what’s the harm?”

The woman looked like she was about to say something when a low growling began to echo around the room. The two stopped bickering and fell into a guarded stance, scanning the room. The trio of others soon followed suit.

The woman narrowed her eyes. “Where’s it coming from?”

The man looked around, his tail dragging along the ground. “Thought you were supposed to know everything?”

“This isn’t the time for-“

She was cut off by the snapping of wood, and all eyes turned to look up towards the source. The two Vampires jumped back as a growling mass of fur landed in front of Weiss kicking up dust, the creature dropping to all fours as it growled at the group.

Weiss opened her eyes as much as she could, looking up at the new arrival. It was a Werewolf, with a familiar black coat of fur. They turned around, leaning in close, as if to inspect the Hunter.

Weiss would recognize those eyes anywhere.

Weakly, her voice croaked out. “R-Rose?....”

The wolf let out a mewl of delight at being recognized, leaning forward to lick at some of the blood covering the Hunter’s face. Weiss gave a small smile in return, the most she could manage right now.

Their moment, however, was broken by a familiar laugh. “So the Hunter has herself a mutt?”

Rose’s face quickly turned from happy to angry, letting out a low grow as she turned to face the group of Vampires again. She stood tall, towering a good head or two above the entire group. Her claws glinted in the moonlight streaming in from the now open hole in the roof, her fangs bared as she glared.

Honestly Weiss had to admit it was an imposing sight. This was her first time seeing Rose truly angry, aside from maybe the first time they met, and she’d be lying if she said the Werewolf wasn’t intimidating. She wasn’t the largest Weiss had ever seen, but she exuded this air of… ferociousness. Protective instinct, perhaps? But if that was the case then why? It’s not like she was protecting her mate or anything.

A strange feeling passed through her at the thought of Rose having a Mate, but she passed that off as delirium from her injuries and tossed it aside.

The woman let out a sigh as she gestured at the pair of them. “Well, you know the deal. Kill them both.”

The trio of Vampires with her growled as they rushed forward, the axe user taking point as he swung the heavy instrument at Weiss’s werewolf protector Rose caught the axe by its sides before it could make contact, using the moment of confusion it brought the vampire to rip it from his grasp and throw it away. Undeterred, the Vampire lunged forward, claws primed and ready to tear into the Werewolves skin.

In retaliation Rose snarled as she brought her other paw to bear, making a deep cut into the Vampire’s chest with enough force to actually throw the man back a few feet. She quickly sidestepped out of the way of the other two, and Weiss had to admit she was nimbler than she thought the werewolf would be.

Rose growled as she shot forward, her maw opening and teeth biting down on one of the Vampire’s arms. The man growled in pain, dropping his sword as the third man approached to help his ally. Rose didn’t seem keen on the idea though, as she swung the man in her mouth around, striking the third Vampire and sending him flying back into the wall, a layer of dust falling from stone accompanying a moan of pain.

That took care of Rose started slamming the other man into the ground, again and again. While Weiss didn’t have any sympathy for the man, even she had to wince slightly at the treatment he was getting. She could have sworn she heard the snapping of bone somewhere in between the Vampire’s screams and the sounds of flesh smacking stone. After a few seconds of that she spun around and released, sending the man flying straight into the first Vampire. The pair of them went sailing back, crashing into the wall next to their comrade.

The werewolf fell back to all fours, baring her teeth and growling at the fallen three. While they were staggering to their feet the clicking of a tongue drew both Rose’s and Weiss’s attention back to the woman.

She sighed, shaking her head. “I suppose I shouldn’t have expected better. If you want something done right…” Her gaze hardened as she drew out a sword from the inside of her dress, “Do it yourself.”

Rose took a step back, standing protectively in front of Weiss as the woman stepped closer and closer. Weiss frowned, wincing a bit as a bit more blood began clouding her vision. If her hunch was right she seemed to be the leader of this, which meant her strength probably far exceeded the three that Rose had just bested. She believed in Rose’s combat ability, but…

Her thought was interrupted by a low laugh that quickly escalated in scale. The three turned their gazes to the source, seeing the scorpion faunus licking his lips as he stalked forward, arms raised and blades at the ready. If Weiss had had her worries about Rose fighting one of them she had massive doubts about her fighting both of them at once.

The man smiled widely. Too widely. “Come now, you’re not going to keep me out, are you? Been awhile since I got to kill a Werewolf… the sound they make when they die is so amusing.”

The woman scoffed. “Do whatever you want. Just don’t get in my way.”

The man rolled his eyes. “Please. If anything you should be sitting this one out. I don’t know why you’re suddenly Mistress’s favorite, but… well, everyone has a favorite toy they eventually get tired of, don’t they?”

The woman growled in anger, turning to glare at the man. “I was the one assigned to this, and I will see it done. You just tagged along because She doesn’t want you messing anything up by acting on your own.”

It was the man’s turn to growl, turning to glare back at the woman. “Everything I do I do for the Mistress!”

The woman shrugged. “Think whatever you want. Maybe that will help keep you going when I’M the one on top. Maybe I’ll keep you around to polish my shoes, if She doesn’t just throw you out first.”

While the pair bickered, Rose had turned around and walked up to Weiss. While she wanted to chastise her for turning her back on the enemy, they seemed far too immersed in their own argument to take notice of the pair of them right now. The werewolf seemed to contemplate for a second before looking off to the side. Weiss followed her gaze, and had a feeling she knew the beast’s plan.

She nodded her head weakly, her voice only a bit more than a whisper. “Do it…”

Rose seemed to have heard her loud and clear. She knelt down, gingerly scooping the Hunter up and onto her back. Weiss bit back every scream of pain she wanted to let out, no matter how big or small, as she was brought up. Any noise like that and she doubted they’d get out of here like they hoped. Soon enough she was on the Werewolf’s back, and she clung onto Rose for dear life. With one last nod to Rose to assure her she was fine, the Werewolf dropped back to all fours, and Weiss could feel the muscle in Rose’s body tense.

She gulped. Another weird feeling…

She didn’t have time to dwell on it though, as it seemed that the two Vampires had decided to stop arguing. “Stop right-”

The woman didn’t get to finish her sentence, as almost immediately Rose broke into a sprint, making right for the wall she had looked at earlier. Or rather, the planks she had looked at earlier. Someone must have really liked this castle. These ones seemed to be even more rotted than the others, which was favourable to them.

Rose burst through them with barely any effort, and out onto the plains that surrounded the castle. The cool night air would normally have been quite refreshing, if Weiss had been in any state to pay attention to it. As it stands she was fighting to even maintain consciousness, and it was a fight she could feel herself losing. Now that they were finally free of the castle interior Weiss felt Rose speed up,

Even as she sprinted across the plains, Weiss still clinging to her back, Rose let out a whimper. Weiss couldn’t help but smile slightly at that. Someone worrying for her like this… she had almost forgotten what it felt like. It was… nice.

With a growl the Werewolf sped up slightly. Weiss let out a sigh. Deciding to trust the werewolf, leaving her fate in Rose’s hands, she stopped fighting it. Using the last remnants of will she had she forced her body to keep a tight hold on Rose’s fur, to not let go no matter what.

And then she blacked out.

* * *

  
Weiss groaned as she slowly opened her eyes. Where… was she? The last thing she remembered was Rose and a castle and-

Weiss blinked, awareness rapidly returning to her. Her mind quickly jumped into action, working to identify her surroundings. She was in a bed, in a small room, the noise from outside indicating that it was likely a city. That smell… the stereotypical sterile smell of a doctor’s office. She bolted upright, part of her instincts taking over, though that quickly proved to be a mistake. She hissed as she put a hand to her head.

A happy… bark? It wasn’t quite a bark, but that was the closest thing Weiss could relate it to, turning the Hunter’s attention to the side. Sitting beside the bed was Rose, who if by her messy fur being any indication had taken to lying on the floor while Weiss was out. She forced a smile onto her face. It was likely she owed the werewolf her life.

“Oh good, you’re awake.”

The pain in her head clearing slightly Weiss turned her attention to the voice, finding it to be Blake as expected. The cat faunus was wearing a black tank-top and a pair of sweatpants as she walked in, bottle of water in hand. She must have closed up shop a bit ago.

Taking a seat in a chair next to the bed Blake held out the water in one hand, a couple of pills in the other. “These should help with the headache.”

Trusting her friend’s judgement Weiss quickly took the pills and plopped them into her mouth, washing them down with a drink of water. After a couple more gulps for good measure she put the lid back on, passing it back to Blake. “Thanks.”

As Blake took the water and set it on a table to the side of the bed Weiss couldn’t help but take pause. Her voice was… gravelly, to say the least. Hoarse, perhaps? It wasn’t particularly sore per say, and the pills did seem to start pushing the pain in her head to the side.

She gulped. “How… long was I out?”

Out of the corner of her eye Blake looked out the window. “A few hours. It’s still the same day, if that’s what you were wondering.”

Weiss let out a sigh of relief. Good, she wasn’t out for a long time then. Taking the moment of silence she looked down at herself, and couldn’t stop from cringing. Her left arm was wrapped in a cast (how had she not noticed that sooner?), while there were bandages covering a lot of the rest of her body. Raising a hand to her head she felt more bandages there.

Blake was silent for a moment before speaking. “You were lucky. The cut missed the eye, but… I couldn’t stop it from scarring. It was either too late by the time I started treating it or the weapon that did it had some form of enchantment placed on it.”

Rose whimpered a bit as Blake held up a small hand mirror, letting Weiss have a look at the state of her face. It had certainly seen better days, that was for sure, though it was better than Weiss had thought it might be. Her face was dotted with cuts and scrapes, yes, but she had seen much worse injuries in her line of work. But the kicker? What she assumed Blake had been talking about?

A scar, starting a bit above her left eye and ending a bit below it.

She let out a quiet sigh. At the very least she could still see, she had to thank the stars for that at least. Still, she couldn’t say she had ever particularly wanted battle scars. There were many a Hunter that swore by them, said that they carried stories of the battles they waged, of the Beasts they had hunted. To Weiss?

It would just be a constant reminder of her failure. That she messed up. She couldn’t help but shiver at the thought of what her Father would say if he were to see it. This was an imperfection, and Jaques Schnee doesn’t care for imperfections.

A whimper and a wet feeling on her arm jolted her back out of her own head, and Weiss looked down to find the source. Rose was looking up at Weiss with sad eyes, leaning in and giving gentle licks to the Hunter’s arm. Weiss giggled a bit, raising her free hand to scratch behind the Werewolves ears, earning a low growl of appreciation from the wolf. It was rather cute, especially in contrast to the fierce side that Weiss had bore witness to earlier.

Blake cleared her throat, signalling Weiss to turn her attention to the witch. “So what exactly happened anyway?”

Weiss let out a sigh, absently continuing to scratch behind Rose’s ears as she turned her focus to Blake. “I had accepted a job, one that the contractor had specifically asked for me to do. There was a vampire causing some trouble in the countryside. No deaths yet, but the one who put out the contract wanted me to talk some sense into them, get them to stop,” she hesitated, “to kill them if that wasn’t possible.”

After a moment of silence she continued. “I arrived there around midday and started gathering information from the locals. The contractor didn’t know where the Vampire made its nest, so I had to go about finding it the old fashioned way. It took a few hours, but I eventually tracked him down to an old castle a ways away from the village the contractor specified. Unfortunately by that time it was night, and the contractor wanted it sorted out by tomorrow. So as remiss as I was I marched straight up to the castle and inside. I figured that if I played my cards right things wouldn’t turn violent.”

Blake frowned. “Unless you were half asleep I doubt a single Vampire could have dealt this much damage to you.”

Weiss nodded. “You’re right. When I got there what was waiting for me wasn’t just a single Vampire, but a batch of them. In total I saw five, though there could have been more hiding in the shadows. I was ambushed by one, and he was the one that, well… did all this.”

She gestured to her bruised and battered body. “Long story short the lot of them cornered me, and I honestly wasn’t really sure I’d make it out of there. That’s when this big loaf showed up.”

Weiss accentuated her point with an extra scratch, which caused Rose to let out a coo of joy. Bit strange sounding coming from a werewolf, but the Hunter had seen stranger.

“Honestly it’s only because the two that were in charge were bickering that we were able to get away, I think. After that I assume Rose brought me to you.”

Blake nodded her head. “She did. I was seeing off my last patient before closing when she got back. I tended to you as best I could, then you slept for a couple hours,” the faunus paused for a second before continuing, “But Weiss? That doesn’t sound normal. I mean, if there were more Vampires there, from the sounds of it multiple from the same Clan no less, I doubt the guy who put the contract in would have missed that fact.”

Weiss sighed, nodding her head. “That’s my thoughts too. Yet, the contract only mentioned a single Vampire.”

She removed her hand from Rose’s head, much to her annoyance if the resulting whine was any indication, and rested it against her chin. She could only come to one logical conclusion about things, especially given what she overheard those two Vampires talking about, and it wasn’t a pleasant one. Be that as it may though, ignoring the facts wouldn’t change things.

The look on Blake’s face, slowly changing from contemplation to horrid realization, indicated that she must have reached the same conclusion that Weiss did.

She let out a heavy breath before admitting the truth to the rest of the room. “Someone wants me dead.”

The room fell into a cold silence for several minutes as the occupants absorbed that information. Even Rose was looking down in some strange mixture of sadness, rage, and confusion. Blake was simply looking down at the floor, likely trying to come to terms with it, same as Weiss was. She knew this job has its risks, sure, but she had always expected Beasts or renegade Demis to be the ones to threaten her. But this? Someone wanting her dead, and using The Order’s system to do it?

That was a whole other kind of frightening.

“One of the Vampires mentioned offhand about someone having hired them to kill me. At least, I think that’s what he said. I was… a bit out of it at the time. Assuming that’s the case, which based on our current theory seems very plausible, I’m almost certain someone hired those Vampires to kill me and then set me up with a contract to lure me out to somewhere they could do it quietly. It wouldn’t seem too strange for a Hunter to be killed in the line of duty, now would it?.”

Blake looked up, nodding. “Doesn’t The Order have regulations for contracts?”

Weiss nodded her head. “They do. But all contracts are required to undergo inspection before being officially released for Hunters to take. The inspection will usually vary by request, but in this case they should have sent Scouts in to verify that a Vampire was actually causing trouble. Once they did, they would relay that back to their handlers, who would then relay that to the Overseers, the ones who oversee Contracts.”

Contracts themselves weren’t a mandatory part of being a Hunter, since your paycheck comes from working for The Order themselves, but oftentimes there were problems not big enough to warrant the attention of the entire Organization. That’s where Contracts came in. The smaller problems, such as Demis or singular beasts causing trouble, were relegated to contracts, where Hunters of the appropriate skill level could then take care of it. That was another job of the Scouts, to assess how dangerous a Contract would be and rank it accordingly.

Blake picked up where Weiss left off. “If that’s the case then the Scouts would have noticed something was remiss with the Contract, right?”

Weiss frowned. “Not necessarily. The group could have only sent out one of their members at a time to cause trouble, but that would imply that they were an organized group instead of a ragtag bunch of Vampires who joined together for whatever petty reason.”

Blake cocked her head. “Vampires usually don’t work too well with others outside their clan, right?”

“That’s right. For whatever reason, 90% of the time Vampires have been noted to not get along well with members of other clans. But the way the three of them fought… either this is an unlucky case of being that 10%, or they were all part of the same clan. And the clan would never do something like this, let alone even be able to in the first place, without permission from the clan head, the Brood Queen or King.”

Blake frowned. “Which means…”

Weiss nodded. “Someone hired that clan to kill me. While there is a chance it simply slipped by the Scouts, even the best make mistakes sometimes, this is another matter. Those vampires were an organized group with proper weapons, and they were skilled. I could tell just from the fight we had that although they weren’t amazing, they had training. That leads me to believe in the fact that this was all a set-up.”

Blake gulped. “If it was though… what sort of resources would they have to have at their disposal to be able to pull something like that off?”

Weiss let out a sigh. “Far too many. We don’t even know if it’s only a single person. The scout who inspected it, the handler, the Oversee, even the lady I accepted the contract from. Any one of them could be involved, or even the one themselves. Failing that they could have been bribed, not to mention the many, many other forms of blackmail that exists.”

“So all we have to go on is that they have a large amount of resources, connections, and this clan of Vampires they hired to do their dirty work?”

Weiss gave her friend a grim nod.

Blake let out a sigh. “This certainly isn’t how I expected my night to be going. I was expecting to just have to bandage you up, not learning of some plot to have you killed.”

Weiss cocked a brow. “You were expecting me? Come to think of it, the way you were talking earlier makes it sound like YOU were the one to send Rose to the castle.”

Blake shrugged. “Guilty as charged, though I can’t take all the credit. It seems you might have a guardian angel watching out for you.”

Weiss cocked her head. “What do you mean?”

“Earlier today, just as the day changed to night I felt an ephemeral presence around here. Figuring it might be a spirit in need of some help or guidance, I performed a bit of a seance to communicate with it. Turns out it was a Spectre, and while It didn’t give a name it did say that you were in danger, that you needed help and where exactly you were. It left pretty soon afterwards, before I could even ask it anything. I was a bit skeptical at first, but it seemed… frantic. Worried. I decided to trust my gut, but I didn’t know if I could make it in time.”

She gestured to Rose, who was now sitting and intently listening to their conversation. “I saw it was a full moon so I put in a call and sent Ru- Rose here to go check on you, see if you were okay. If you weren’t I told her to bring you here, so I could help.”

Weiss frowned. Just as day changed to night? That would've been a good hour or two before she actually got into trouble. Did this Spectre learn about the ambush beforehand? If so, how? And why go out of it’s way to warn Blake? How did it even know that the two were friends? Was it stalking her?

Weiss groaned as her head began to throb, raising a hand to clutch it. Blake giggled a bit, patting Weiss’s shoulder. “I think that’s enough thinking for now. You need to get some rest. If it wasn’t obvious already you’ll be staying here. No way am I sending you home with those kinds of injuries, especially if someone wants you dead.”

Weiss wanted to correct her and tell her that it was unlikely that they’d do it themselves given the methods they’d already tried to use but she hadn’t the energy to do so. As she laid back down though, and as Blake and Rose turned to leave the room (she could see Rose was reluctant to leave, something that again made a weird feeling flash through her heart) she held out her hand.

“Rose!”

The werewolf turned, cocking her head in curiosity.

Weiss let out a breath. Why was this so difficult? “Could we… meet up later? During the day? I want to thank you for helping me. Obviously I can thank you now, thank you, but I… guess I want to hear your voice?” She let out a sigh. “I’m… sorry if this is a weird request.”

Rose was silent for a moment, exchanging a glance with Blake (there was that feeling again) before turning back to Weiss. Her maw shaped into a wide smile before nodding her head, barking happily.

Weiss smiled in return. “Great. How about in a couple days time? A cafe downtown? A place called Golden-Crimson Rose. It's a little unorthodox, but the coffee is really good.”

The werewolf almost seemed to laugh before nodding her head excitedly. Weiss noticed Blake trying to suppress a laugh and she couldn’t help but frown. Was it something she said?

Regardless she could feel the claws of sleep starting to grab at her mind and she collapsed back onto the pillow. She heard shuffling of feet and paws as the pair left the room, shutting the door behind them with a soft click.

And just like that it was quiet. Blissfully quiet.

Letting out a content sigh Weiss readjusted herself slightly to make herself as comfortable as she could be with her current arrangement. She was a side sleeper, and that wasn’t exactly feasible in the state she was in. Well, less feasible and more not smart.

Weiss was admittedly a bit surprised with herself. She felt quite calm, despite the fact that there was an incredibly high probability someone wanted her dead. She was ready to attribute that to the unusual giddiness she was feeling about finally getting to meet Rose during the day. It was a strange feeling, one she didn’t feel often, but she didn’t think much of it. Her mind was already in the process of shutting down for the night.

As her eyes shut and Weiss felt the throes of sleep begin to take her, one last thought flashed through her mind:

She was really looking forward to meeting Rose in person.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally got that out. Honestly I thought I'd have it out sooner but it went on a biiiiit longer than I thought it would, plus getting distracted is a flaw of mine. Regardless I hope you enjoyed it, and hope that you'll look forward to the next chapter!
> 
> On a side note, I'd like some opinions. I originally only really planned to go up to Weiss and Ruby meeting, but as I've written more and more I've been getting more and more ideas with how to keep the story and plot going. So my question is this: should I keep it all in one work? Or should I have the rest be in a separate sequel work?

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! I'll probably update this once a week or so, maybe more often depending on how easily ideas come to me and if I have the time to. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated, and I'll (hopefully) see you next chapter!
> 
> P.S. Go check out WR Weekend if you want. Got a one-shot for the prompt for tomorrow all ready to post  
> https://hopeofmorning910writes.tumblr.com/tagged/white-rose-weekend-2020


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